By 
By Ross Moyo
NetOne just moved its brand stack up the OSI layer. At the inaugural NetOne-KIDZCAN Golf Tournament, Group CEO Eng. Raphael Mushanawani didn’t pitch 4G speeds. He pitched “connectivity beyond technology.”
The new positioning: “Connecting communities to opportunities, connecting partnerships to purpose and connecting people to hope.” That’s NetOne reframing itself from a bandwidth vendor to a social infrastructure platform.
The use case was KIDZCAN, Zimbabwe’s childhood cancer support org. “It was about giving hope to children battling cancer… standing with families facing one of life’s most difficult challenges.” High-empathy vertical = high brand recall.
Every touchpoint was mapped to meaning. “Every drive, every putt and every round played carried a deeper meaning.” In marketing terms, NetOne turned a golf course into a live activation funnel for CSR.
The CEO anchored it to policy APIs. He plugged the event into “Vision 2030 and NDS2” under President Mnangagwa — healthcare, social protection, inclusive development. For a state-owned MNO, that’s compliance-as-brand.
He used sport as a UX metaphor. “Golf teaches patience, discipline, focus and perseverance… These are the same qualities demonstrated every day by the brave children supported by KIDZCAN.” Storytelling that scales across channels.
Stakeholder integration was on display. KIDZCAN ED Daniel Mckenzie, Club Chairman Bruce Clark, Captain Eric Makarimai, plus corporate golfers. That’s a multi-sided platform play: Telco + NGO + Club + Private Sector.
No KPI was quoted, but the output metric was clear. “The true success… lies in the lives that will be touched, the awareness that has been created and the hope that has been strengthened.” That’s brand equity, not ARPU.
Tagline drop: “Together, we have connected communities to hope.” NetOne closed with “The World In One.” In 2026, it just added: “Hope In One.” If this becomes annual IP, NetOne owns ‘Golf-for-Good’ in Zim tech CSR.
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